We help create community-powered organisations.
Our consultancy and practice work helps bring councils, NHS bodies, charities, and others closer to their communities, and unlocks the transformative power of residents and service-users.
This part of our work has grown in response to the appetite to explore how our research around community power can be implemented in practice.
We work side-by-side with partners to tackle the ‘how’ of moving to a different operating model, where ‘community power’ becomes embedded in your day-to-day work.
Practice in Practice
Why should we work with New Local?
Community-powered approaches can increase your organisation’s impact by mobilising the assets, energy and insights of the people and communities your organisation serves. It is also key to moving to a more preventative approach that reduces demand. With rising demand and constrained resources putting public and voluntary sector organisations under pressure as never before, independent support can be valuable as you transform how you work.
New Local is the leading organisation focused solely on community power. We produce influential research, lead a highly active peer-learning network and work directly with national policy-makers, alongside our growing consultancy and practice offer. In short, we are the experts in community power.
We are a not-for-profit organisation with one aim: to promote community power across the public and voluntary sector. We are not looking to maximise profits or dividends at your expense. Or to provide you with an off-the-peg solution. Our sole goal is to help your organisation move towards a community powered approach in a way that works for you.
Who has New Local worked with?
We’ve worked with dozens of institutions and service providers, from councils of all geographical locations and political stripes, to NHS bodies.
Do I need to be a New Local member to work with you?
No! We work with those both inside and outside our network. But we offer a 10% discount on practice fees for members of our network.
What type of support do you offer?
We catalyse change by working with partners in three main ways: as a strategic partner, as a delivery partner, and as a learning partner. We believe the potential for public service transformation which unlocks community power is greatest, and more lasting, when partners take action across each of these domains.
How would New Local work with us?
We know a fair bit about community power but the real expertise in how it can work for you lies within your workforce, partner bodies and, of course, your communities.
We see our role as drawing that expertise out through expert facilitation, deliberation and research and then distilling that into highly practical agendas of change informed by our extensive work with other public and voluntary sector bodies.
This means you will not only end up with a roadmap towards your community power vision but with a plan that every key individual, team, organisation or community feels they own.
What are some examples of the work you’ve done?
We have worked on a variety of challenges with partners all designed to help the move towards being a more community powered organisation.
These include:
- Changing organisational culture
- Developing a clear offer to workforce, partners and community
- Creating multi-partner strategies
- Identifying and shaping pilot schemes
- Building strategies to address specific challenges such as inequality and poverty
- Creating evaluation frameworks
- Implementing strategies with a focus on workforce development;
- Working with specific services such as social care, neighbourhood teams and primary care.
We are always open to new challenges and issues!
How much does it cost?
We do not have any set fees for our work. The cost of a project is determined by your requirements and we will provide a bespoke costing based on our day rates which are competitively priced. Our overriding goal is to help you become more community powered; so, we are always very happy to be flexible on price and project design to find the most impactful and affordable approach for you.
Who should I contact for an initial conversation?
Contact our Head of Practice & Strategy, Shaheen Warren, who will be more than happy to find time for an initial, no-obligation, no-charge conversation.
